My cousin sister lives across the pond in Canada so she escaped (most of) my excited shrieking (I say most, because, well thank you FaceTime). My sister however did not escape that fate. She had to put up with the weekly photos, shopping lists, endless advice, nursery ideas and of course, the baby shower talk!

I just could not wait to get stuck in and for once picking a theme was the easiest part. Having grown up reading Peter Rabbit together and both of us being obsessed with the Beatrix Potter collection, it was an easy pick.

And where else to start, but the cake. Yup, it’s almost always because I just want to eat the cake mix by the way. Don’t judge me!

I’m pretty proud of this one – it was my first time using gum paste and thanks to the incredible step by step YouTube tutorial on how to make little Mr Peter Rabbit himself, it turned out pretty well. Here’s the link to the Modelling Paste Peter Rabbit tutorial. I loved making the fondant vegetables too – fiddly but fun. And hey, my mum gave me a thumbs up, so like highest praise ever, yes i’ll take it!

Peter Rabbit themed paper plates, napkins and cups and a bunch of themed stationery for the games added some fun to the day. And of course no party is complete without balloons. Jade of Jade’s balloons came through again and we had a beautiful set of yellow, mint green and sky blue balloons that filled the corridor ceiling. Needless to say, Sophia and Aishy were in love. 2016-03-20_0002

We had the mother of all dessert tables with homemade meringue kisses, sweets, cakes, sandwiches, tarts and the usual Costco to die for red velvet cake! I have always loved the Meringue Girls creations so just had to give their meringue kisses a go myself. Really easy and really pretty – where would I be without YouTube! Here’s the link if you want to give it a go yourself – The Meringue Girls Mixture

I also made a McGregor’s baby vegetable garden by gluing mini white picket fences around the edges of a crate and using chocolate sprinkles for the soil. I then used this to present the bubba’s spread with cherry tomatoes, veggie sticks and cheese.

There was of course a little teeny bit of DIY in the form of these floral wooden letters spelling BABY.

It was super simple to do and has become a pretty little addition to our Jacob’s nursery – why not give it a try yourself? All you’ll need to do is buy some wooden freestanding letters (I got mine off eBay), get a glue gun, some artificial flowers and glue glue glue! I’m working on another as we speak for a very special friend of mine – I hope she loves it!

Here are some more pictures of all the fun that was had – (thanks hub!)

What better way to end this post than with a picture of my crazy beautiful sissy, her neat little 35 week bump and the gorgeous and unique guestbook her best friend Jaymi put together.

This too is hanging proudly in the nursery and serves as a perfect reminder for my sissy of all her nearest and dearest who came and showered baby Jacob with best wishes, gifts and all the love in the world.

This post should have come long before this blog was even created, so in the words of Justin Bieber – Is it too late now to say sorry? Did I just quote the Biebs? What the hell is happening to me!

The apology is of course to our amazing honeymoon planner, Sangeeta Sehmi. We owed you this testimonial and thank you when we boarded that plane to our destinations 2 years ago. So to make up for the delay, I thought I’d write a blog post instead!

Now I’m not going to lie guys, I wasn’t even aware that honeymoon planners existed. I mean, you can just plan it yourself right? Bit of google, bit of Expedia, bit of Trip Advisor, bish, bosh, bash! Right? Probably, and I’m sure that works perfectly for most people.

However, if like me and the mister, you’re confused about where to go, or you’ve had a fairly full on time planning the wedding, or you work extremely busy schedules, or you just want to enjoy a luxury trip away and not worry about the nitty gritty details involved in planning transfers or booking multi-destination trips for once – then, this lovely lady is the only call you need to make. Phew.

I can’t remember how we found her, but I do recall sighing heavily with relief when we did. I was grateful that we could avoid muddling through uncertainty and disagreements with each other to book something we would love.

We had so many different ideas and it wasn’t until we spoke with Sangeeta over many patient discussions, ideas and itineraries, that we realised we actually just wanted to relax – (normally not the ‘sit on a beach and do nothing’ types so took us a while to realise and give into it!).

However, Sangeeta made it so easy. She was available on email and on the phone on evenings and on weekends (which was very helpful as I was working on A+E at the time) and she was easy to talk to. She sent us different options within the budget we pitched and it was as easy as choosing the one that was the best fit. A real personalised service based on our suggestions.

All the itineraries we discussed were tempting, but we finally agreed on a multi-destination love affair with Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) and the Maldives. Here are my favourite bits.

First stop, the Banyan Tree Hotel in Bangkok. A beautiful luxury hotel right in the centre with an absolute must visit rooftop bar and restaurant, whether you stay there or not. It also had its own spa and afternoon tea areas which we were able to access thanks to an upgrade organised by Sangeeta. My favourite part of this trip was the Apsara River Cruise, run by the hotel itself. A wonderful evening with incredible sights and the best Thai food I’ve ever had.

Next stop, the Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang Mai. This was a lovely hotel but we didn’t spend a huge amount of time enjoying the hotel as we had lots we wanted to do! We went to Tiger Kingdom, did some elephant trekking and the absolute must-do here, the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. Needless to say, I shopped till HE dropped. Oops.

Our final (and my favourite) stop, Conrad Island, Rangali, Maldives! Oh I can but dream that we will meet again,sweet Rangali. There is just too much to say so I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. The resort is set over two islands connected by a footbridge and we were lucky enough to stay in one of the water villas. There were so many restaurants to choose from, including their most famous one, Ithaa – the underwater restaurant. Overall, it was quite expensive and I’m not sure we would have enjoyed it as much if we didn’t have the half board deal and the extras we had organised by Sangeeta. Highlights would have to be THE most incredible hot stone massage of our lives that we still talk about today. It was in a therapy room set on the middle of the ocean, I mean, imagine looking down through the face hole on the massage table and staring at the clear blue crystal ocean below a glass floor. It was the epitome of tranquility and sums up this trip perfectly.

Now, I often get raised eyebrows when I recommend a honeymoon planner to people (the bish, bosh, bash types, bear in mind this is includes me) but I can honestly say that I have recommended Sangeeta to my friends, my work colleagues and family and no one has been disappointed.

She booked everything for us, threw in a few classy extras and even included transfers. The latter was incredible by the way – no ringing around taxis, no need to chase our tails, we just turned up at the scheduled time and enjoyed being whisked away to our next destination. It really was smooth sailing and I’d pay it all again for that. Except wait, we didn’t pay. Her advice and expertise will cost you nothing. She was professional, accessible and not to mention super friendly and delivered an incredible service from our first consultation to our return trip home.

If the photos above aren’t convincing enough, or the wide grins across our faces, I hope my words are. She was responsible for the best trip of our lives and we are eternally grateful (especially, as we probably won’t enjoy another like it for ooo, I’d say another 25 years if we’re lucky!)

So what are you waiting for? Go and check her out (www.sangeetasehmi.com) if you’re planning any of the moons (honey/mini/baby) or you’re due a luxury holiday or you just want to treat yourself.

Yes, I’m one of those Junior Doctors. On strike today, fighting for a safe contract, safe working conditions, searching for some appreciation, some value and fighting for the future of the NHS.

It genuinely frightens me to think of the little ones in my immediate life, Sophia, Aishy, and Jacob potentially having to grow up in a society with no NHS. It is an incredible service built to serve, to help, to provide medical care and support in so many ways and this is the important part, without discriminationto EVERYONE.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all heavy and political on the blog. This particular issue ignites a fire in me that is not very well contained so I’ll keep it simple. As Aneurin Bevan put it,

‘The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it’

Well we’re here and we’re fighting. So please JOIN US and support your junior doctors.

It is everyone’s fight.

Let’s not let our little ones read about the NHS in a history book, let’s fight so that it is very much in their present.

Here is my latest (and very special) reason for being thankful and grateful for the NHS – my little nephew, Jacob Arjun. Thank you to the junior doctors and wonderful Broomfield midwives involved in the safe delivery of this little bundle especially Vicky and Lesley – you are kind of a big deal in our household x

Mother’s day has just been and gone here in England and it got me thinking. Motherhood causes such a transformation in us but there is so much going on with our brand new little person in those first few weeks that sometimes we don’t even notice the subtlety of its magic. Before we know it, it has crept up over us and its force is unshakeable.

I don’t know about you guys but I have so many moments a day now when I half laugh/half cringe at how terribly mumsy I’ve become! I mean, how, where and when did that even happen!?

Eek, you know the moments I mean right? The ones where you almost see your own mother in the mirror as you walk by! Yup those ones – I can just see Sophia rolling her little eyes at me now!

Raise ’em up high if you can relate…both mine are up! (Hands and feet)

Reaching into your handbag thinking you’ve found your lipstick and pulling out a tube of Bonjela teething gel instead

Picking up your tiny human to smell their bottom is completely normal and totally necessary

Your night owl days are dead and gone. If you stay up past 9, you’re a hero. No really, #rockstar

You are exhausted just watching your cousins on Snapchat. Yes, Erica, this one is about you!

A lie in is 7am. A lie in till 8am is a miracle and you’re certain there are probably pigs flying somewhere right now or a unicorn at the front door.

Silence is not golden to you, it is suspicious. Very suspicious.

Accepting that most food you eat will likely have been partially chewed first and probably from off the floor. 3 second rule people, come on!

Hiding in the conservatory to sneak just one bite of dessert before the inevitable ‘sharing’ begins where your turn never comes.

Always having baby wipes to hand when cleaning everything in the house but not when you actually need to clean the baby.

You spend more time wiping the floor of restaurants post meal than enjoying the food.

‘Sleeping’ at night is a battlefield with a baby in the bed. Real bruises, real story.

Your highlight of the week is meeting up with your NCT girls and mummy friends where of course you vow to spend some time not talking about the kids and yet spend the entire time talking about your kids (happily!)

You live in your jeggings – stained with baby food of course!

There is a never-ending pile of laundry, not helped by the load you’ve just washed for the third time because you forgot to dry it – eek!

Being unable to defy the gravitational force field that surrounds the baby aisle in ANY shop – especially Zara.

You consider it a luxury to have two hands to do any task – cue velcro baby, oh hi arthritic hip, see you soon.

Going to the bathroom is not a solitary occasion. There is always an audience and often applause.

There is a tiny place in hell for those stray pieces of lego which sit and wait for you to stand on them. Ouch doesn’t cover it!

You used to have love heart eyes when your husband took you out for a nice meal, now it’s when he does the washing up, or changes the dirty nappy.

The guilt. The mummy guilt, about everything. It plagues you, even and almost always when it really shouldn’t.

Your kisses of course have magical, healing properties which never fail to bring a smile to your face when sought.

The indescribable delight you feel when your toddler looks at you and says, mama, amma, mummy – desperately seeking reassurance, love, approval, a smile, a nod, a kiss or a giggle.And it is all immediately worth it. (well, most of the time :p)

For this weeks flashback, I’m looking back on last years Mother’s Day.

It was a very special one and not just because it was my first one as a mum – we also had Sophia christened on this day.

It took place in the very same church that I was christened in 28 years before, our local Brentwood Cathedral and we chose my sister and brother in law as her godparents.

It was a short and sweet service and we had lunch and cake at my parents house with our family and friends. The weather didn’t play ball unfortunately but hey, this is England after all so no surprises there!

One big surprise that did throw me though was the arrival of my darling Canadian cousin, my little sister Maylani and my uncle Tim. It was so special to have them with us for this important moment, especially as my uncle is my godfather and Maylani, my god sister. Love you guys!

Here are a few pics of the lovely day we had courtesy of my mister.

My favourite feature of this day deserves its very own mention, and no it’s not the cake (a family combined effort – damask stencils are NOT the one people!)

It is Sophia’s christening dress.

I have always wanted to do something with my wedding dress and for a little while I was torn between keeping it as it is or turning it into something else. Being a sucker for tradition though the latter won out and I decided I wanted her christening dress to be made out of my wedding dress. My lovely friend Sindhu did the same for her daughter Avaana and I was sold when I saw the result – it was truly beautiful and a wonderful sentiment.

So who else would I turn to to take on this incredible task than my very own incredible Nora Walker, my mother. I don’t know how she is able to do absolutely everything I need/ask/want her to do, but she can and does, and always so well.

Here are a few pictures of her magic. I only hope I’m able to do the same for Sophia one day if and when the time comes

It meant the world to me that on this special day, she wore a dress made by her grandmother from her mothers wedding dress.

A tribute to heritage, one I will use for all my children and I hope it will be passed on for many generations to come. Special thanks to my mum for all that you have done and continue to do for us x

Wishing you all a beautiful Mothering Sunday this weekend x I’m sure every single one with this little peach will be as special as my first x

The title of this post sums up the last few months nicely and I’m feeling a little dizzy as I’ve only just stopped spinning (ok, who am I kidding? Sophia is now a toddler… I’m still spinning). It also perfectly describes the theme of Sophia’s first birthday party.

The big ONE. I’m glad I can look back on it fondly even if the weeks leading up to it were a little stressful. Just a little. Her party was, as most events in our household have come to be, a labour of love but I’m so glad we went all in.

As you might know by now, I do love a good D.I.Y so most of my party planning starts with something I’d quite like to make and on it spurs from there. In this case, I decided I wanted to make Sophia a carousel cake!

I found a fantastic tutorial on Paul Bradford Sugarcraft online school which took me through it step by step (thankfully!) Probably one of the most challenging cakes I’ve made but also the most rewarding. I used sugar moulds for the horses and all the little details and gilded them all in edible gold paint and glitter – so chuffed with how it turned out!

Now cake aside, there were a fair few other DIY details too. It’s lucky I have my very own Handy Andy as it definitely saved us a penny! My mister is a dab hand at DIY and helped bring the theme to life. He made two wooden structures for our funfair themed games (Tin Can Alley and Hoopla) and a Photo Booth out of a palette which went down a treat!

He also made and wired the LED letters that spelt SOPHIA and it looked great as a centrepiece on the cake table.

The cake table was finished with a fabric banner that I made – (surprisingly easy to do and much cheaper than buying one!) and these super cute ferris wheel cupcake holders – thank you Wilko’s, you gem of bargains!

Hub also painted a scrap of MDF in chalkboard paint for me to draw a milestone chart on – just like my previous posts on this blog. It took me ALL night but it was worth it and has served as a nice keepsake since. We hung her monthly photos on 11 helium balloons and had them hanging from the ceiling above the chalkboard. It was especially nice to set this up as it was a rather sweet trip down memory lane.

As most of Sophia’s little buddies were babies and toddlers, we hired and set up a soft play area next to their little picnic tables. Each little person had a lunchbox, a milk bottle with chocolate milk, chips in newspaper cones, a mini pinwheel that we made and a pretty pastel balloon tied to their chair – not going to lie, I wanted to sit there!

Considering my very sweet tooth, it’s not surprising that I frequented my favourite spot – the dessert table! Lovely Jade, of Jade’s Balloons delivered a perfect array of helium filled balloons for the party and I especially loved the arch she made for this area.

A bit of home baking and a trip to Costco’s sorted this in no time. My mum made a whopping 80 cupcakes (they are better than Lolas) and I dipped some mini donuts in edible glitter for good measure.

For party favours, we homemade caramel toffee apples covered in nuts and sprinkles for the kids and put together some popcorn and candy floss. It was definitely a high sugar zone – oops!

Phew! All in all, it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed a lovely day with our closest friends and family. A big thank you to our parents and siblings for all their help and to my pretty talented husband for creating a lovely day for our dear little Sophia!

If anyone is looking for a party venue in the Essex area, I cannot recommend Little Channels enough – a great space for littles with an enclosed courtyard to use if weather permits and the loveliest staff who went over and above to help facilitate everything we wanted.

The super talented Slawa Walczak (http://www.slawawalczak.com) took these precious photos I’ve shared here and below and we are so grateful for these memories!

Some might say that the effort was wasted – I mean what’s a 12 month old going to remember? Yes, you’re right – she probably won’t remember all of the above but I will. We will.

You see, to me, Sophia’s first birthday was much bigger than just a party – it was a celebration of 365 days of change, of chaos, of perfection, of imperfection, of challenges, and of accomplishment, and I’m not just talking about Sophia. It was also a congratulation to each other on surviving our first year of parenthood and most of all, a thank you to our family and friends for supporting us for every one of those days.

The above applies however you choose to celebrate, big or small. It really doesn’t matter as long as you celebrate it the way you want. So when your tiny human reaches this milestone, go forth and plan, or don’t, and enjoy it – whatever it is that works for you!

So much has happened since I last blogged- I went back to work, Sophia’s first birthday party, Christmas, New Years, my husbands 35th which somewhat got overshadowed by probably the most exciting news of all (sorry bubs) – the arrival of my brand new scrumptious nephew! As such, the blog took an inevitable backseat.

But hey ho, fast forward 4 months, and I’m baaaack and ready to get my blog on! I’m going to try and change things up a bit and get my structure game on. I’ll be posting twice a week (rather than sporadically which became my trend, oops!) Fridays for all the catch ups and Mondays for just about everything else. That’s the plan anyway.

And although it’s difficult to plan anything with a little one, I’m going to give it a damn good go. So for my very first ‘Flashback Friday’ as it were, I’ll be blogging about Sophia’s first birthday party! For now, I’ll share a few memories of her actual birthday which we spent at home with our parents and siblings – fitting as this is how we started.

It was low key and just lovely. A relaxing day with good food, good company, cake and cuddles. Just what we all needed before her party the following week. More on that in my next post!

For now, a few snippets of her birthday. She absolutely loved being with all her favourite people, jumping up and down in her cot full of balloons, and of course, tasting the icing on her cake – well, she’s definitely mama’s girl then!

It feels like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital and looked at each other completely bewildered and lost but so totally in love with you that it didn’t matter.

Ok so we still share those looks now (though, I promise we’re a little less lost).

We smile each time we hear the sweet melody of your conversation, when you learnt how to crawl, and when you stumbled as you took your first few steps. We giggle when you flash us a wide gummy smile while rubbing the sleep from your eyes, when you wave hi and bye and applaud yourself. We are so proud when you sing and dance to any melody, when you share your toys and food so naturally. You are joy personified – and you bring this to us in every little thing that you do.

Here’s to all these moments, the last 10 months and the many many more years of joy you’ll bring us x We love you dearly x

This time 2 years ago, me and my then new husband breathed a huge sigh of relief as we wrapped up 2 weeks of wedding celebrations with 3 events (not recommended)! Hub and I had been together for 9 years at the time of wedding planning so all we did know is a big party was a must. Him being Hindu and me being Catholic, we soon found having an interfaith affair became quite the task – one we couldn’t have done without our families.

We arranged to have a Catholic wedding in Tuscany with close family and friends and a big Hindu wedding and reception back in the UK. Looking back, it was manic but good manic – I think or at least that what I tell myself and our bank balance anyway!

Being super into DIY details, this sort of overtook each part of the wedding – I had my in laws, my parents, fiancé, my sister and sister in law in a little jam making conveyor belt at one point! Apart from having just worked night shift 5 of 5 and almost falling asleep mid stir, it was lots of fun!

It’s almost hard to believe we have only celebrated our second year anniversary as so much has happened in this time. Nostalgia hit us hard as it’s difficult to remember a time without Sophia and Oscar.

Thankfully, we can always rely on our wedding photos to transport us back to those special couple of weeks. So one tip for any newly engaged couple – research your photographer, choose wisely and spend a little more – after all, once the day is over, what you’re left with are the memories you hold in your heart and those incredible moments that stand still in a photo for a lifetime. (Thank you Anushé Low Photography [www.anushe.com] and X-Quisite Photography! [www.x-quisite.co.uk])

So here it is, wedding spam alert – you’ve been warned! I’m going to share a few (ok, more than a few) of my favourite photos and use this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone that shared these couple of weeks with us. You know who you are and we love you so much!

Which leaves me with just one thing to say and he knows it’s coming, dearest husband of mine, where is that wedding album I was promised!? Stiillllll waiting!

Would I leave you out of our home baked birthday cake tradition? Never.

2 whole years of your mischief and cheek and I’ve loved every minute. In just 2 years, you’ve taught me things some people take moons to work out – here are my favourites! Thanks bud x

1. Forgive and forget

2. Embrace your loved ones at the door

3. Naps are good for the soul so lie in whenever you can

4. Be loyal and faithful

5. Wag more, bark less, bite never

6. Eat what you’re given

7. Perseverance is key – they’ll give up the chicken eventually

8. Live in the moment

9. Enjoy the journey – it doesn’t always matter where you’re going

10. End each day with a nuzzle, snuggle and kiss

P.s The cake was lapped up in no time and worked as a perfect treat for a good week. The recipe (from all recipes.com) is below for all curious dog lovers – very easy to make for even a novice baker so give it a go – tail wagging bowl licking good (and yes that was just me) Nutty for Peanut cake